It begins with the birth of the child
as only floral and feminine
pinks adorn the little fairy,
symbolising the rosy but confined life
of a beautiful home with picket fences,
the parents wish their little one.
The heavenly blue on the other hand
are strictly reserved for baby boys
who are destined to cover the vast
expanses of the limitless skies
the way eagles soar high unencumbered
from the earthly trappings.
The toys come next and we see
dainty dolls with unattainable
standards of anatomical perfection
pouring in those pink nurseries
as each birthday brings heaps of presents
furthering the stereotype.
And the parents fondly see their little one
coo with satisfaction as she makes
tea for her make-believe husband
in the kitchen set as she plays House.
But, it's the fast moving hotwheel cars,
the noisiest action figurines and the
biggest Nerf-guns along with Mechanix sets
that are gifted only to her brother
so that from early on, he learns
that boys don't cry and
what it takes to be a Man.
-Neha Bansal
Very true... I don't know why it has been going on since ages. We all do that unintentionally. May be because we are brought up that way.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter says mom I don't like pink colour much when my husband got something cute in pink... She asked for punching bag ��
Chhavi
I know...we r unwittingly perpetuating the stereotypes...
Delete👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
ReplyDeleteI myself am not at all fond of pink... precisely because of this reason that it furthers a stereotype. I really wish I would be able to write like you one day. You put across social/gender struggles with such ease and finesse... it almost feels like saying ‘why can’t people just understand, itni simple si to baat hai’.
Few words, huge message. Beautiful writing :)
I see my son who actually likes pink n red but God...he would never accept it...I keep telling him that let's buy some pretend play kitchen sets/doll house furniture...he just flatly refused....
ReplyDelete